| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the discipline of students with |
| 3 | disabilities; amending s. 1003.57, F.S.; providing |
| 4 | definitions; providing legislative intent and findings; |
| 5 | requiring the training of school personnel concerning |
| 6 | procedures for safely restraining students with |
| 7 | disabilities in an emergency; providing for reporting such |
| 8 | procedures to the Department of Education by publication |
| 9 | in the school district's policies and procedures manual; |
| 10 | prohibiting school personnel from restraining a student |
| 11 | with disabilities except in specified circumstances; |
| 12 | prohibiting school personnel from restraining a student |
| 13 | with disabilities for a behavioral intervention or when |
| 14 | the student is prone; requiring a medical evaluation after |
| 15 | school personnel restrain a student with disabilities; |
| 16 | prohibiting school personnel from placing a student with |
| 17 | disabilities in forced seclusion; prohibiting school |
| 18 | personnel from threatening to place a student with |
| 19 | disabilities in time-out; providing certain exceptions; |
| 20 | requiring that a school prepare a incident report after |
| 21 | each occasion that school personnel restrain a student |
| 22 | with disabilities; providing requirements concerning the |
| 23 | report's contents and completion; requiring that the |
| 24 | school contact the parent or guardian of a student with |
| 25 | disabilities who is placed in restraint by school |
| 26 | personnel; providing requirements for making such contact |
| 27 | and recording attempts to make contact; providing |
| 28 | requirements concerning the provision of the incident |
| 29 | report to the student's parent or guardian, the Department |
| 30 | of Education, and the Advocacy Center for Persons with |
| 31 | Disabilities, Inc.; requiring that school districts, in |
| 32 | cooperation with parents of students with disabilities, |
| 33 | form a group to review incident reports; requiring that a |
| 34 | student's name be redacted from the incident report; |
| 35 | requiring that the school district cooperate with parents |
| 36 | of students with disabilities participating in the group; |
| 37 | providing an effective date. |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 40 |
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| 41 | Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 1003.57, |
| 42 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 43 | 1003.57 Exceptional students instruction.-- |
| 44 | (3)(a) As used in this subsection, the term: |
| 45 | 1. "Restrain" means to use a manual method, a device, or a |
| 46 | material to restrict the student's freedom of movement or normal |
| 47 | access to his or her body. The term includes, but is not limited |
| 48 | to, restricting such movement or access by using a mechanical |
| 49 | device, manual or physical restraint, or medication that is not |
| 50 | a standard treatment for the student's condition to manage his |
| 51 | or her behavior. |
| 52 | 2. "Forced seclusion" means to remove the student from an |
| 53 | educational environment, involuntarily confine the student in a |
| 54 | room or area, and prevent the student from leaving the room or |
| 55 | area if achieved by a show of authority, a threat of physical |
| 56 | force or other consequences, or physical force. The term does |
| 57 | not include placing a student in time-out. |
| 58 | 3. "Time-out" means to place a student who has displayed a |
| 59 | well-defined and articulated behavior in a less reinforcing |
| 60 | environment for a period of time. The term does not include |
| 61 | placing a student in seclusion for an extended period. |
| 62 | (b) The Legislature intends that the least restrictive |
| 63 | means of intervention be employed based on the needs of an |
| 64 | individual student with disabilities. It is the policy of this |
| 65 | state that the use of restraint on students with disabilities is |
| 66 | justified only as an emergency measure and the use of forced |
| 67 | seclusion on such students is not justified in any circumstance. |
| 68 | The Legislature finds that restraint and forced seclusion are |
| 69 | interventions that pose physical and psychological dangers for |
| 70 | students and school personnel and that students with |
| 71 | disabilities are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of |
| 72 | restraint and forced seclusion. For these reasons, the |
| 73 | Legislature finds that school personnel should not place a |
| 74 | student with disabilities in forced seclusion and should not |
| 75 | restrain a student with disabilities except in an emergency |
| 76 | situation when there is a demonstrable, imminent, and ongoing |
| 77 | risk of significant physical danger to the student or others and |
| 78 | no less intrusive alternative is feasible. |
| 79 | (c) School personnel who interact with students with |
| 80 | disabilities must receive an initial training and periodic |
| 81 | followup training in procedures for safely restraining such |
| 82 | students in an emergency which are approved by the district |
| 83 | school board. Each school district shall report such procedures |
| 84 | to the Department of Education by publishing the procedures in |
| 85 | the district's special policies and procedures manual. |
| 86 | (d) School personnel may not restrain a student with |
| 87 | disabilities: |
| 88 | 1. Except in an emergency when there is a demonstrable, |
| 89 | imminent, and ongoing risk of significant physical danger to the |
| 90 | student or others and a less intrusive alternative is not |
| 91 | feasible. |
| 92 | 2. As a behavioral intervention. |
| 93 | 3. Solely for having caused property damage, except in an |
| 94 | emergency when there is a demonstrable, imminent, and ongoing |
| 95 | risk of significant physical danger to the student or others. |
| 96 | 4. As a response to one or more behaviors that have |
| 97 | occurred, except in an emergency when there is a demonstrable, |
| 98 | imminent, and ongoing risk of significant physical danger to the |
| 99 | student or others. |
| 100 | 5. While the student is lying prone. |
| 101 | (e) As soon as possible after a student with disabilities |
| 102 | is placed in restraint by school personnel, the school shall |
| 103 | ensure that the student is medically evaluated by a physician, |
| 104 | nurse, or other qualified medical personnel. |
| 105 | (f) School personnel may not place a student with |
| 106 | disabilities in forced seclusion. |
| 107 | (g) School personnel may not threaten to place a student |
| 108 | with disabilities in time-out. School personnel may place a |
| 109 | student with disabilities in time-out if: |
| 110 | 1. The time-out is part of a behavior-intervention plan |
| 111 | developed for that student from a functional behavioral |
| 112 | assessment and documented on that student's individual education |
| 113 | plan; |
| 114 | 2. There is documentation that the time-out was preceded |
| 115 | by other interventions that used positive behavioral supports |
| 116 | that were not effective; |
| 117 | 3. The time-out takes place in the classroom or in another |
| 118 | environment where the class educational activities are taking |
| 119 | place; |
| 120 | 4. The student is not physically prevented from leaving |
| 121 | the time-out area; |
| 122 | 5. The student is observed on a constant basis by an adult |
| 123 | for the duration of the time-out; |
| 124 | 6. The time-out area and process is free of any action |
| 125 | that is likely to embarrass or humiliate the student; |
| 126 | 7. The time-out is for a period that does not exceed 1 |
| 127 | minute for each year of the student's age and the time-out ends |
| 128 | immediately when the student is calm enough to return to his or |
| 129 | her seat; or |
| 130 | 8. The time-out is not used as a punishment or a negative |
| 131 | consequence of a child's behavior. |
| 132 | (h) The school shall prepare a written report after each |
| 133 | incident in which school personnel restrain a student with |
| 134 | disabilities. The incident report must be prepared within 24 |
| 135 | hours after the student is released from the restraint or, if |
| 136 | the release occurs on a day before the school closes for the |
| 137 | weekend, a holiday, or for another reason, the report must be |
| 138 | completed by the end of the school day after the school reopens. |
| 139 | Each incident report must include, but need not be limited to: |
| 140 | 1. The name or initials of the student; |
| 141 | 2. The date, time, and duration of the incident; |
| 142 | 3. The type of restraint used; |
| 143 | 4. The location of incident; |
| 144 | 5. The names and job titles of all school personnel who |
| 145 | were involved in the incident; |
| 146 | 6. The names and job titles of all school personnel who |
| 147 | observed the incident; |
| 148 | 7. The names or initials of all students who observed the |
| 149 | incident; |
| 150 | 8. A specific description of the behavior that resulted in |
| 151 | the restraint; |
| 152 | 9. A statement of how the determination was made that the |
| 153 | criteria in paragraph (d) were satisfied; |
| 154 | 10. A description of each intervention that was attempted |
| 155 | before the restraint; |
| 156 | 11. The results of the medical assessment required under |
| 157 | paragraph (e) and a copy of any report by the medical |
| 158 | professionals conducting the assessment; and |
| 159 | 12. The date of the student's most recent functional |
| 160 | behavior assessment and behavior-intervention plan and a copy of |
| 161 | the student's current behavior-intervention plan. |
| 162 | (i)1. If school personnel restrain a student with |
| 163 | disabilities, the school shall contact the student's parent or |
| 164 | guardian as soon as practically possible. The first attempt to |
| 165 | contact the student's parent or guardian must be made within 1 |
| 166 | hour after the student is released from the restraint. If school |
| 167 | personnel are unable to reach the parent or guardian by |
| 168 | telephone, the school shall keep a record that documents each |
| 169 | attempt to make such contact, including the name of each staff |
| 170 | member who called, the time of the call, and the number called. |
| 171 | 2. The school shall provide the student's parent or |
| 172 | guardian with a copy of the incident report as soon as possible, |
| 173 | but no later than 24 hours after the time that the report is |
| 174 | required to be prepared under paragraph (h). The school shall |
| 175 | obtain, and keep in its records, the parent's or guardian's |
| 176 | signed acknowledgement of receipt of the report. The school |
| 177 | shall also provide a copy of the incident report to the Bureau |
| 178 | of Exceptional Education and Student Services of the Department |
| 179 | of Education and the Advocacy Center for Persons with |
| 180 | Disabilities, Inc. |
| 181 | (j) Each school district, in cooperation with parents or |
| 182 | guardians of students with disabilities, shall form a group of |
| 183 | school personnel and parents or guardians to review each |
| 184 | incident when school personnel restrain a student with |
| 185 | disabilities who is enrolled in a school within the district. At |
| 186 | least half of the members of the community review group must be |
| 187 | parents or guardians of students with disabilities. Each school |
| 188 | that prepares an incident report under paragraph (h) shall |
| 189 | provide the community review group with a copy of the incident |
| 190 | report upon which any student names are redacted. The group |
| 191 | shall conduct a timely review of each report provided. The |
| 192 | school district shall cooperate with parents of students with |
| 193 | disabilities in participating in the review group. |
| 194 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |